Fastmarkets published its Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) export billet index later than scheduled on Monday March 9 due to a technical error but it is now appearing as normal.Fastmarkets calculated the steel billet index export, fob Black Sea, CIS at $392 per tonne on Monday March 9. The index was published in Fastmarkets' pricing database, MInD, later than scheduled, however, due to a t...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange, with the exception of aluminium, closed down in the afternoon session on Monday March 9 while problems arising from the 2019-CoV coronavirus continued to weigh on global economies and demand for commodities."There was no shortage of negative developments over the weekend while recently-affected economies took drastic measures to limit th...Read More
If global financial markets had been operating under a pervading sense of uncertainty due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), they now appear to be veering on panic.Oil prices have suffered their biggest one-day collapse since the 1991 Gulf War following Saudi Arabia's declaration of a price war on Russia through a shock move to hike oil production. S&P Dow Jones Indices was forced...Read More
Fastmarkets' minor metals, ores and alloys team answers some of the key questions raised during our recent web seminar, discussing what could be in store for the minor metals markets now that most of the stocks formerly held by the Fanya Metal Exchange in China have been sold off in auctions.If you missed it, follow this link to listen to the free recording.The whereabouts of minor metal stocks he...Read More
Soci?(C)t?(C) le Nickel (SLN) resumed operations and ore shipments at its Thio mine in New Caledonia on Monday March 9, a spokesperson for French parent company Eramet confirmed to Fastmarkets on the same day. "Operations and subsequently the loading of ore carriers at Thio have restarted today," a spokesperson for Eramet told Fastmarkets. SLN was forced to completely cease production at the...Read More
The Chinese silicon grade 5-5-3 export price declined by $10-20 per tonne on Friday March 6 after overseas buyers retreated on stocks secured in February and fears of a weak downstream aluminium alloy market, sources said.Fastmarkets assessed the price of silicon export 98.5% Si min, fob China at $1,600-1,650 per tonne on Friday, down by 0.9% from the previous week.Chinese exporters lowered offers...Read More
Treatment charges (TCs) for spot lead concentrates have continued to rise, with smelters cherry-picking deals with terms as high as $200 per tonne.Fastmarkets assessed the lead spot concentrate TC, high silver, cif China, at $180-200 per tonne on Friday February 28, up $30 from $150-170 per tonne the previous month. The corresponding assessment for lead spot concentrate TC, low silver, cif China,...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices declined in morning trading on Monday March 9, with fears over the economic effect of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) leading investors to hedge exposure to risk assets, while nickel futures took the biggest hit.Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently at $12,360 per tonne, down over 3.6% from Friday's closing price of $12,840 per tonne...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have fallen to a 12-week low due to mounting anxiety over the growing economic impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and a free fall in oil prices, Fastmarkets has learned. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $28.58 per hundredweight ($571.60 per short ton) on Monday March 9, down by 5.4% from $30...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have been fairly stable over the past week, with minor fluctuations indicating buyers' uncertainty about the future direction of price movements.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?484.64 ($547.15) per tonne on Friday March 6. This was down by ?,?0.26 per tonne week on week from ?,?484.90...Read More
The recent extension of the health quarantine area in the north of Italy will not affect steel production or deliveries, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 9.On March 8, Italian authorities ordered a lockdown across the whole of Lombardy and in 14 provinces in the regions of Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Piedmont and Marche in an attempt to control the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus.A large...Read More
Weak sentiment persists in the Asia hot-rolled coil markets, with spot price negotiations trending down amid talk of transactions being concluded at lower prices, market participants said.Fastmarkets' assessment of steel HRC import, cfr Vietnam, which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm re-rolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products sold into Vietnam, was $465-470 per tonne cfr for the week ending...Read More
Prices for rebar imports into Singapore were stable over the past week because of thin trading activity, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) import, cfr Singapore - which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical-weight basis - was $440-445 per tonne for the week to Monday March 9, unchanged from a week earlier.B...Read More
Turkish steel mills remained out of the deep-sea scrap markets at the start of the week, but expect to resume purchases soon, market sources said on Monday March 9.There have been no new bookings so far in March. The last cargo was sold on February 24, which put the price of Baltic Sea- and United States-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) at around $280 per tonne cfr.Suppliers, especially those in the US, hel...Read More
Auto bundle scrap prices in the Turkish domestic market dropped over the past week on the strength on the local currency against the US dollar, while ship scrap prices were stable, sources said on Monday March 9.The Turkish lira has regained some ground against the US dollar, following the news that Turkey and Russia had agreed a ceasefire in Idlib, Syria, which took effect on Thursday March 5, ac...Read More
Futures prices on the Dalian Commodity Exchange and the Singapore Exchange were downon Monday March 9, with physical seaborne market trading muted while buyers take a wait-and-see approach. Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.96 per tonne, down $2.23 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.27 per tonne, down $2.01 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade prem...Read More
Seaborne coking coal market saw little trading activity on Monday March 9, with Chinese participants expecting prices to retreat.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $158.65 per tonne, up $0.24 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $169.44 per tonne, down $1.11 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $144.01 per tonne, up $2.50 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $15...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices largely edged up in the week to Friday February 28, with the exception of Turkey, as a result of mainly increased freight rates. Many market participants reported weak trading activity during the week.Limited purchases by TurkeyExport prices in United States West Coast fall, but East Coast quietSentiment deteriorates in Asia on ample Japanese supplyImport prices in Indi...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices dropped on Monday March 9 due to selling pressure and early losses in the futures market, though sentiment remained positive with more construction projects restarting work after an extended break after the Chinese New Year.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,370-3,400 yuan ($486-490) per tonne, down 40 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,260-3,300 yuan per tonne, down...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices dropped on Monday March 9, with sellers making attempts to destock.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,490-3,500 yuan ($503-505) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,280-3,300 yuan per tonne, narrowed downward by 10 yuan per tonneWith inventories at high levels, sellers lowered their prices to generate buying interest to draw down on...Read More